AP poll: Most Americans oppose strike on Syria

Monday

Sep 9, 2013 at 8:00 PM

By Lara Jakes and Jennifer Agiesta, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Only 1 in 5 Americans believe that failing to respond to chemical weapons attacks in Syria would embolden other rogue governments, rejecting the heart of a weeks-long White House campaign for U.S. military strikes, an Associated Press poll concluded Monday.

The poll of 1,007 adults nationwide found that most Americans oppose even a limited attack on Syria — likely with cruise missiles — despite Obama administration warnings that inaction would risk national security and ignore a gruesome humanitarian crisis. And a slim majority — 53 percent — fear that a strike would lead to a long-term U.S. military commitment in Syria.

The survey reflects a U.S. public that is tired of Mideast wars after a dozen years of military action in Iraq and Afghanistan. It undercuts political support President Barack Obama is hoping to garner as he seeks congressional authorization this week to strike the regime of President Bashar Assad.

''We need to stop being so aggressive militarily,'' Izzy Briggs, a business services consultant from Epsom, N.H., said Monday. ''I think these small countries are feeling very intimidated by the U.S. and some feel they have to have these sorts of weapons.''

U.S. officials have cited a high confidence in intelligence that indicates Assad's government launched the Aug. 21 attacks that they say killed more than 1,400 Syrians.